


The Announcement

by NeverAndAlways



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Birth, Childbirth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, Pointless Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Weird Biology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 05:03:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1374802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverAndAlways/pseuds/NeverAndAlways
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Night Vale has some odd traditions regarding childbirth...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"...In other news, it seems that the Glow Cloud has returned to Night Vale. Now, before you get out your umbrellas and riot gear, you should know that there have been only two sightings so far. One was reported by Audrey Bates, who, as you know, lives on the outskirts of Night Vale, and also claims to be in contact with a troop of librarians. The other was reported by John Peters- you know, the farmer. Just last Wednesday, he reportedly saw- yes?...I'm in the middle of a broadcast, is it urgent?...I see. One moment, listeners; Intern Radcliffe has just handed me an envelope...and it's from the City Council. That's odd. My pregnancy was documented months ago, and I submitted my annual blood donation just yesterday. I wonder what this could- oh...OH!

'THE NIGHT VALE CITY COUNCIL WISHES TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR BABY/CHILD/OFFSPRING IS DUE TO BE BORN ON APRIL 26TH OF THIS YEAR. PLEASE MAKE WHATEVER PREPARATIONS ARE NECESSARY FOR THIS EVENT.*'

...April 26th; that's today...! Well, listeners, this IS exciting news! Being pregnant has been something of an adventure, but I- wait, there's...something else written here...

'*THE CITY COUNCIL IS AWARE OF YOUR RECEIVING THIS NOTICE. CONTRACTIONS ARE SCHEDULED TO BEGIN WITHIN: 01 HOUR(S).'

...Ah. Well then. This is both exciting and...frightening news. And I'm barely halfway through the broadcast...I'm afraid I'll have to, ah, cut things a bit short today, listeners, but I'm sure you'll understand. For now, why don't we- let's go to the weather, while I sort out a few things."

Cecil's hands shook as he put his headphones on the table and switched off the microphone. He picked up his cellphone; Carlos' number was dialed, and he drummed an impatient rhythm while it rang. Finally, a voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Carlos, it's me."

"Cecil? I thought you'd still be broadcasting now, what's going on? Are you okay?"

"I just got my notice."

"..Notice...? Dios mio; you've been fired??"

"Not fired, no. I can't be fired, you know that. This is a lifelong job. I just got my birth notice!"

"...I don't understand."

"Carlos, the baby is coming TODAY. I'm scheduled to go into labor within the hour."

He could almost hear all the questions, scientific and otherwise, that Carlos wanted to ask. Instead, he heard a jingling of keys, and Carlos said briskly: "I'm on my way."

~**  ☆☆  **~

Cecil tried to keep himself busy until Carlos arrived. He slipped a note under the Station Manager's door, explaining his sudden absence (it was met with only mild hissing and screeching, which he assumed was a good sign). The office plants needed to be watered (some still needed to be tamed, he thought, as he nursed a nasty bite). Intern Radcliffe had agreed to stand in for him until he returned, so there were several official documents to be signed (liability, property damage, loss of life, limb, soul, and/or corporeal form; you could never be too careful). Feeding Khoshekh was more of a challenge than usual, as the animal had generated several small-but-potent gravity wells around himself. Cecil escaped unharmed, however, after placing the food bowl as close to the cat as he dared to reach. 

When all this was done, he made his way into the lobby to sit and fidget and wait for Carlos. He didn't have long to wait: soon, a familiar dark-blue van appeared, and he hoisted himself up and went to meet it. He had barely cleared the front door when the first contraction hit, right on schedule, nearly knocking him off his feet. Carlos dashed out to help him; he was bundled into the passenger seat once the pain had ebbed away, and the two of them sat in the idling car while he caught his breath and checked his watch. 58 minutes since receiving the note: it was early. He sighed heavily.

"Are you okay, querido...?" Carlos asked gently.

"For now. That was just the first one; they're only going to get worse." seeing Carlos' fearful expression, he waved a dismissive hand. "I'm alright. Let's just go."

"So...to the hospital..?"

Cecil was horrified. "Carlos, don't SAY things like that!! Just because the baby is coming a little early, doesn't mean it's sick. And it certainly doesn't mean I'm going to just hand it over to the Hooded Figures!"

"I'm sorry, Cecil. I didn't know."

"Obviously."

An uncomfortable silence hung between them for several moments. Then Carlos swatted it away and put the car into gear. "Right. Home it is, then."

~**  ☆☆  **~


	2. Chapter 2

Things began to speed up once Cecil and Carlos reached their apartment. The second contraction hit, then a third. Cecil became restless and fretful, pacing around the apartment as the time between contractions shrank; Carlos, who had no more experience with the process than his boyfriend did, could only stay by his side and try to comfort him. After several hours of pacing, lying down, sitting, standing, and walking, the pains were four minutes apart, and Cecil gave up and retreated to the bedroom. He continued to shuffle around as Carlos stripped the mattress of everything but the fitted sheet; then the next contraction washed over him and he just barely made it to the bed before his legs gave way. 

"Why would anyone do this voluntarily?" he wondered, in between gasping breaths. "It...it seems more like an interrogation tactic than anything else..."

Carlos smiled dryly. "Don't say that too loudly; the Sheriff's Secret Police might get ideas." Cecil's only answer was a groan. Suddenly he sat up and peeled off his shirt. His pants followed, then his underwear, and he was left sitting in nothing but his own skin. The radio host's sooty-gray body glistened with sweat, and his tattoos swirled crazily. They coiled like frightened snakes on his arms and neck; on his belly, they spun in a wide circle around his navel. He stared into the middle distance, one hand rubbing at the swell of his belly. "Carlos, I'm so tired." he sighed. 

"I know, mi amor." the scientist leaned in to plant a kiss on Cecil's paper-white hair. "But you can do this, and I'll be right here with you." Three violet-hued eyes looked up at him, already cloudy with fatigue. Moments later, they clenched shut, and Cecil laid back with a groan as a new contraction rippled through his body. His tattoos twisted and writhed, and his hands clenched into fists atop the sheets. For a full minute, Carlos could do nothing but watch as his boyfriend shook under the force of the pain like a leaf in the wind. Slowly it passed, leaving the young man to stare up at the ceiling, his chest heaving. He sat up; a wet patch was spreading across the bed from between his legs. "...Oh." he said simply. 

"Your water broke," Carlos explained, going to fetch a towel. "That's good." He placed the towel over the wet spot, and helped Cecil rearrange himself on the bed so that his back was against the headboard. Another wave of pain was already building, and Cecil grabbed hold of Carlos' sleeve with one shaking hand. A pair of vine-like tattoos on his shoulders rose to become a pair of shadowy tendrils; they grasped the headboard so tightly that Carlos was sure he heard the wood creaking. A deep baritone hum came from deep in Cecil's chest. It rose in pitch as the contraction reached its peak, before sinking back down. Cecil let out a shaky breath. "They're getting worse." he remarked. "And closer together." 

"You're doing great, Cecil." Suddenly, Carlos' head jerked up: a large, winged shape passed by the window. "...What was that..?" he had spent enough time in Night Vale that nothing really frightened him anymore, but the last thing he wanted right now was to have to fight off a monster.

"Hm?" Cecil turned to look blearily out the window. The shape flew by again, slower this time; it was humanoid, but impossibly tall and thin, with multiple wings stretched out to catch the breeze. "It's just Erika." the radio host panted. "Some people-ngh- some people think it's good luck..to see one of the Angels while your baby is being born. It's-hhh- just superstitious nonsense. They're attracted to...to the excess life-force and..the smell of blood- ahh!" This last remark was punctuated with a yelp that made Carlos jump. "But they're harmless?" he asked. Cecil nodded mutely. The humming began again, this time spilling over his lips in a pained whine. "It's moving," he gasped. "It's dropped, I can feel it- oh GODS!" he gritted his teeth. Only a few seconds passed before the next contraction slammed into him; it would be several minutes before he could catch his breath enough to speak. "I...I think I need to push."

Carlos tried to ignore the cold fear in his chest as he climbed up onto the bed. He settled himself in front of his laboring boyfriend, placing his hands on the young man's gray knees. Lines of purple ink scattered away from his fingers like fish in a pool. He swallowed hard. "Okay...when you're ready, tuck your chin into your chest and push." Cecil did as he was told; at the start of the next contraction, he braced his feet against Carlos' knees, brought his chin down to his chest, and pushed hard. His face flushed lavender with exertion, and he pushed until the contraction was over. He let out the breath he'd been holding and closed his eyes. 

"You're doing so well, querido." Carlos encouraged. Cecil smiled shakily, before clenching his teeth and bearing down again. Several contractions came and went, and he nearly lost himself in the rhythm of it. Then suddenly he gasped as something inside him caught fire.

"It's crowning." said Carlos, looking rather pale. "Just breathe through the next one." Cecil nearly tore the sheets resisting the urge to push; it burned and throbbed and he was sure it would never be over- until, with a jolt and a shout, the head slipped free. Carlos gently cleared out the baby's mouth and nose with one finger. "You've almost done it, Cecil." The scientist's voice was wobbly around the edges, as was his smile. "Just a couple more pushes and we'll have our baby." Cecil was visibly weakening: he gave only a half-hearted push before stopping for breath. His third eye looked pleadingly up at Carlos, while the other two stayed shut.

"Help," he gasped. With as gentle a touch as his science-calloused hands could manage, Carlos took hold of the baby's head, and carefully pulled as Cecil pushed. Slowly it turned; Cecil whimpered at the feeling of it. He paused to take a deep breath, then bore down once more. One shoulder emerged, then the other- then, with a gasp and a rush of fluids, it was over. Carlos looked down at the little being in his hands, and felt an odd mix of terror, happiness, and awe. It was small- so small, and so fragile, he was almost afraid to hold it. The baby was covered with birth fluids and violet-colored blood, its face was puffy and wrinkled, and it was the most wonderful thing he'd ever seen. It- *he*, Carlos realized with a jolt- had sooty-gray skin like his mother (father? parent?), and a full head of dark, curly hair like his own. The baby suddenly gave a gurgling cough and began to squirm and whimper. A rustling of sheets told him that Cecil was sitting up; looking up, he saw his boyfriend gazing down in awe at him and the baby.

"It's a boy." Carlos said softly. He lifted the baby onto Cecil's chest. The young man ghosted his fingers over his son's tiny feet and hands, traced the contours of his face and ears. "Wow..." he said after a moment. "He's so...neat. He's perfect."

~**  ☆☆  **~

Approximately two weeks later, Cecil returned to the radio station (only for a little while, as he explained to Carlos). The gravity wells had disappeared from the bathroom, and Intern Radcliffe was only slightly singed. Cecil found him in the middle of a broadcast, and the intern was only too happy to turn over the microphone to him. He stepped into the recording booth and donned his headphones.

"Hello listeners! I'm sorry to interrupt your program, as Intern Radcliffe has been doing such a wonderful job in my absence, but I wanted to provide you with an update. Two weeks ago, Carlos and I became the parents of a perfect and mostly human baby boy! He hasn't been named yet because, as you know, it's currently illegal to give your child a name before they're one month old, but being a parent has been surprisingly easy so far. No inter-dimensional portals in the floor, no Hooded Figures...and one of Old Woman Josie's angels appeared outside the window just before he was born! Now, I know this is nothing but superstition- especially since angels technically do not exist- but Carlos and I spotted Erika several times while I was in labor. Intern Radcliffe is hinting that he needs to continue his broadcast, so I will return the microphone to him; but rest assured, listeners, I will be back! I have only a few days left of my required maternity leave, so until then...good night, Night Vale. Goodnight."

~**  ★★★  **~


End file.
